Vietnam May Purchase India's Deadly Supersonic BrahMos Cruise Missile

Having resolved long-standing issues regarding intellectual property concerns, India and Russia may be ready to offer up their jointly developed BrahMos supersonic cruise missile for export. According to a recent report by IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, India plans to reinvigorate plans to offer the missile to Vietnam. As I’d discussed inThe Diplomat in September 2014, Hanoi had shown interest in the platform for some time. Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar will visit Vietnam later this month to discuss the sale with his Vietnamese counterpart.

The BrahMos has the distinction of being one of the deadliest cruise missiles to exist, primarily due to its supersonic cruising speeds and precision. Though the BrahMos has a shorter range than other cruise missiles, it remains the fastest anti-ship cruise missile, capable of traveling at speeds of up to Mach 3.0 while sea-skimming to avoid detection. Several variants of the BrahMos exist; the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force operate surface-launched, ship-launched, and air-launched variants. A submarine-launched variant has completed successful testing from underwater launch platforms, but remains inoperative.

During a visit by former Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in 2014, New Delhi agreed to supply Vietnam with four maritime patrol vessels. Meanwhile, Indian Navy vessels continue to make regular port calls at Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay. Vietnam is increasingly at the center of India’s “Act East” policy, which seeks to enlarge New Delhi’s footprint in East and Southeast Asia.